Category: amazing race 15

In the all too predictable The Amazing Race 15 Episode 3, Ron & Marcy were eliminated.

Football was 20 minutes behind, and that was before they went into overtime. A live blog will begin when 60 Minutes is over.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Herbert & Nathaniel – 6:53PM
Second: Meghan & Cheyne – 6:54PM
Third: Gary & Matt – 6:58PM
Fourth: Brian & Ericka – 6:59PM
Fifth: Sam & Dan – 7:06PM
Sixth: Maria & Tiffany – 7:16PM
Seventh: Mika & Canaan – 7:25PM
Eighth: Zev & Justin – 7:31PM
Ninth: Lance & Keri – 7:32PM

Teams will now fly to Phnom Penh (not to be confused with Sean Penn), Cambodia and stop at the Foreign Correspondents Club. All the teams are pretty well bunched together, although only Vietnam Airlines makes the flight, with none available until 12:25 the next afternoon. Strangely, although they were there about 16 hours before the flight is scheduled to depart, the last two teams are told the flight is full. They are put on standby but given tickets for the second flight at 2:15PM. After waiting overnight, in the last minutes leading up to departure, both teams are told they’re on the same flight as everybody else.

Upon arrival at the FCC, they must get their next assignment from the editor. They receive a photograph to figure out that their next destination is the Hotel Le Royal, which has a suite named after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who made one official visit to Cambodia in 1967. Canaan slips up asking for his next task, rather than his next assignment. The editors refuse to buckle until he rereads his clue. He also believes that the picture is of Queen Elizabeth, but he is not alone in his complete confusion over who he’s looking for. Not that it matters because they are not required to identify the photo, only figure out where it is hanging.

When they get to the hotel, Sam & Dan pretend that they didn’t find anything. The Globetrotters don’t believe them. It’s probably a little to early to be playing the game that hard.

The detour is a choice between cover or wrap. In cover, teams must choose and sell four motorcycle helmets to a family of four consisting of two adults and two children. In wrap, teams must take scarves and look through the market for a woman wearing an identical scarf. Typically, the searching tasks are the worst choice, although in this case, it does not look like there’s much difference between the two tasks.

Wrap: Zev & Justin, Sam & Dan, Herbert & Nathaniel, Mika & Canaan, Meghan & Chenyne, Maria & Tiffany, Gary & Matt, Brian & Ericka
Cover: Lance & Keri

From there, teams will travel on foot to Wat Toul Tom Pong. After about a 2k run, it’s time for the road block. There’s a royal monkey handler who trains dancers to act like monkeys. To complete this road block, one person must learn to be a monkey and go bananas. This turns out to be a fairly simple task, although it is a source of drama for some people (Zev and as usual Lance & Keri).

Road block (in order of arrival): Zev, Dan, Flight Time, Ericka, Meghan, Gary, Keri, Maria, Canaan

The pit stop for this leg of the race is Wat Phnom, the tallest religious structure in the city, a buddhist shrine built more than 600 years ago.

Zev & Justin arrive first, but there’s a catch. They can’t find their passports. If you can’t find your passports, you may as well just quit because you won’t be able to go much further. Phil won’t let them quit. Instead, if they can’t find their documents, they will be the ones eliminated. For some reason, they have not searched their backpacks yet. After searching them, they are only able to locate Justin’s. They must go back out on the course and need to return with Zev’s passport before the last team arrives.

First: Sam & Dan
Second: Herbert & Nathaniel
Third: Brian & Ericka
Fourth: Gary & Matt
Fifth: Meghan & Cheyne
Sixth: Lance & Keri
Seventh: Mika & Canaan
Eighth: Maria & Tiffany
Eliminated: Zev & Justin

Unable to find Zev’s passport, Zev & Justin have been eliminated from the race.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 15 Episode 5 I’m Like Ricky Bobby (Dubai), which airs Sunday at 8/7c CBS.

The Amazing Race 15 Episode 2 came down to duck herding, and Garrett & Jessica were eliminated.

The pit stop isn’t exactly stopped. Since it’s a boat, it picks up anchor and moves.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Gary & Matt – 5:45AM
Second: Sam & Dan – 5:55AM
Third: Herbert & Nathaniel – 5:56AM
Fourth: Lance & Keri – 5:57AM
Fifth: Zev & Justin – 6:07AM
Sixth: Meghan & Cheyne – 6:10AM
Seventh: Maria & Tiffany – 6:11AM
Eighth: Mika & Canaan – 6:14AM
Ninth: Marcy & Ron – 6:15AM
Tenth: Brian & Ericka – 6:29AM

Matt is getting frustrated with his father trying to take the father role. Sam is more spontaneous than his impatient younger brother Dan. One of the Globetrotters lost his dad two days before the race, and the last thing he heard from him was to win the damn race. Lance thinks of himself as a lion waiting to take out the gazelles. Marcy’s dad was shot down and rescued in Vietnam in 1968. She apparently would rather enjoy the area than run the race.

Teams will travel by taxi to Hi Chi Minh City, where they will grab a clue at a water puppet theater, which they eventually find out is about 2 hours away.

The clue they are given is a postage stamp, and they must figure out that they’re looking for that building, the Ho Chi Minh City Main Post Office. Two teams have bigger challenges to overcome. Matt needs to listen to his dad rather than insisting on running an unknown distance/direction toward the post office. As for Lance & Keri, they need to figure out that the thing they’re holding is a clue. When he finally shows her the clue, Keri tells him that they have to go to that building.

The detour is a choice between child’s play or word play. In child’s play, teams will go to a local park and choose a concrete animal to transport along the bumpy walkways of the park. In word play, teams will go to a hotel and find the observation deck, then scan the intersection below to identify six Vietnamese letters moving with the congested traffic, which they will then unscramble to spell the word for independence.

Child’s play: Herbert & Nathaniel, Zev & Justin, Gary & Matt, Meghan & Cheyne, Sam & Dan, Maria & Tiffany, Keri & Lance, Brian & Ericka, Mika & Canaan
Word play: Marcy & Ron

Dan & Sam and Maria & Tiffany are remaining attached at the hip, although the girls send Dan on his way when their dolly breaks so as not to get in their way. Zev & Justin pick the most awkward animal possible, a giraffe, which they end up smashing. Tiffany, a member of the only all female team, is gasping for breath as she lugs her animal around. Makes me wonder why Maria’s not switching off. Lance throws his animal around, much to the shock of the lady waiting to pass out the clue. Marcy & Ron finally realize they’re not going to figure out the word on their own, so they ask the locals, who know immediately what the word is. They do not, however, realize this fact before they’re in last place.

As the race goes on, Lance & Keri continue to get more fed up with each other. Meanwhile, Sam is getting tired of his brother’s complaining.

The next destination is Dien Co 008. The road block is to find out what it is like to work in the business of breaking down electronics, which means using tools to smash VCRs into parts.

Road block (in order of arrival): Flight Time, Cheyne, Matt, Brian, Sam, Tiffany, Justin, Canaan, Lance, Ron

The pit stop for this leg of the race is the Reunification Palace. Cheyne beats the pro athletes in a footrace, but they leave Meghan behind. That’ll probably be the most interesting race of the night because it’s becoming pretty obvious how the ending is going to play out here.

First: Herbert & Nathaniel (win a trip to Aruba)
Second: Meghan & Cheyne
Third: Gary & Matt
Fourth: Brian & Ericka
Fifth: Sam & Dan
Sixth: Maria & Tiffany
Seventh: Mika & Canaan
Eighth: Zev & Justin
Ninth: Lance & Keri
Eliminated: Ron & Marcy

Ron & Marcy have been eliminated from the race.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 15 Episode 4 Sean Penn Cambodia Here We Come (Cambodia), which airs Sunday at 8/7c CBS.

Eric & Lisa were eliminated at the starting line in The Amazing Race 15 Episode 1, but there were no more eliminations in the episode as Maria & Tiffany were non-eliminated. As punishment, though, they have incurred a 2 hour penalty (for not completing the task) and must complete a speed bump.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Meghan & Cheyne – 12:19AM
Second: Zev & Justin – 12:36AM
Third: Lance & Keri – 12:40AM
Fourth: Marcy & Ron – 12:41AM
Fifth: Herbert & Nathaniel – 12:42AM
Sixth: Brian & Ericka – 12:44AM
Seventh: Gary & Matt – 12:45AM
Eighth: Garrett & Jessica – 12:51AM
Ninth: Sam & Dan – 12:54AM
Tenth: Mika & Canaan – 1:03AM
Eleventh: Maria & Tiffany – 3:22AM

Their next stop is Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2600 miles away. Since it’s midnight and they’re going to an airport, it’s safe to say that all teams will be bunched up. This makes the 2 hour penalty moot. When they land in Vietnam, they will take a 2 hour bus ride to the rural village of Cai Bei.

Lance & Keri are already getting on each other’s nerves. Garrett & Jessica are using this show to see if they’re meant to be together. Hint: if you need this show to tell you that, the answer is probably no. Sam & Dan plan to pretend they’re straight and flirt with the girls.

Half of the teams stay behind at the hotel and use the Internet to book their flights. The other half go straight to the airport and book there. Hopefully for them this is an easy lesson learned. You book before you arrive, one way or another. A handful of the teams are haggling at the ticket counter to try to get seats. Everybody ultimately ends up on the same flight.

Maria & Tiffany’s strategy has been blown up at the airport. Somebody recognizes them as professional poker players, and Sam & Dan overhear. Meanwhile, Maria & Tiffany jokingly ask if Sam & Dan are gay. The Globetrotters have also found out that Maria & Tiffany are lying.

All the teams land in Vietnam, where they’re greeted by flooded streets. Despite the flooding, people with mopeds are driving through this mess.

First bus (departs at 3:30PM): Maria & Tiffany, Sam & Dan, Herbert & Nathaniel, Mika & Canaan, Marcy & Ron
Second bus (scheduled to depart at 4:45PM): Gary & Matt, Brian & Ericka, Lance & Keri, Meghan & Cheyne, Zev & Justin, Garrett & Jessica

Not wanting to wait another hour and 15 minutes, Brian comes up with a plan. Pay the bus driver more money to make up for the rest of the tickets. This works out just fine and puts them right behind the other teams. On the way over, Zev decides to give the bus driver the jacket off his back.

The teams on bus 2 just wasted their money, although I have to give them credit for their aggressive gameplay. The docks close at 5:00 and don’t reopen until 7:00 the next morning. The teams will all be camping out. Maria & Tiffany are picking apart the competition. They don’t get a warm feeling from Zev & Justin, and they see Lance as just a meathead who can’t possibly be a lawyer. Zev, meanwhile, sees them as not the kind of people who would actually work with homeless people.

Before they get to the first task, Maria & Tiffany must complete their speed bump, in which they will prepare and serve soup.

The next stop is to go by boat to mud puts, where they will fertilize fruit trees. This task is bound to be messy.

From there, teams will take their boats to the Cai Be field. On their way back, Zev & Justin realize something. They don’t know where they’re going. Who has the clue? When they return, they see it was almost dropped in the river. They grab it, but this puts them roughly even with the last place Maria & Tiffany.

When they arrive at their destination, they see ducks. Everywhere. The road block is to get all their ducks in a row. They will herd 150 ducks from their pen, across the bridge, and back again. If they do not complete this task in 10 minutes, they will have to wait for another turn.

Road block (in order of arrival): Meghan (unsuccessful), Jessica (unsuccessful), Ericka (unsuccessful), Matt, Flight Time, Sam, Keri, Marcy, Mika (unsuccessful), Tiffany, Zev, Meghan 2nd attempt, Jessica 2nd attempt (unsuccessful), Ericka 2nd attempt (unsuccessful), Mika 2nd attempt, Ericka 3rd attempt, Jessica 3rd attempt

Teams will proceed to a market to search for the Bassac III Riverboat, the pit stop for this leg of the race. Although they’re doing well, one of the brothers calls the other a moron on the way there. It’s a race for last between the two teams who needed three tries on the road block.

First: Gary & Matt (win kayaks)
Second: Herbert & Nathaniel
Third: Sam & Dan
Fourth: Lance & Keri
Fifth: Zev & Justin
Sixth: Meghan & Cheyne
Seventh: Maria & Tiffany
Eighth: Mika & Canaan
Ninth: Marcy & Ron
Tenth: Brian & Ericka
Eliminated: Garrett & Jessica

Garrett felt they were a stronger team than their placement shows, which they probably are. But they aren’t really much of a team when you get right down to it. He’s not sure whether they’re any closer to marriage.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 15 Episode 3 It’s Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars (Vietnam), which airs Sunday at 8/7c CBS.

Last year, brother/sister duo Tammy & Victor were The Amazing Race 14 winners. The Amazing Race returns for season 15 with a two hour premiere. The Amazing Race 15 cast consists of 12 teams with a preexisting relationship.

Or at least it will consist of 12 teams for the next few minutes anyway. In a thoroughly lame twist, one team will be eliminated at the starting line. The race starts off in LA, which is convenient since half the contestants are from California and half wish to get work as actors/models following the race.

Just beyond their backpacks is the first challenge. The team that is unable to complete the challenge will be eliminated right there. It’s like the Family Edition. One team won’t even get out of the US. They will need to search the wall of over 1000 license plates for one of only 11 from the Shinagawa district of Tokyo, their first destination. At the very top of the clue is the symbol for this district, but nobody’s paying attention to that. Justin realizes it eventually. In the meantime, some teams are making dumb luck guesses. Phil will be handing out tickets on a first come, first served basis.

First flight (leaving 12:45PM): Maria & Tiffany, Marcy & Ron, Meghan & Cheyne, Herbert & Nathaniel, Gary & Matt, Zev & Justin
Second flight (leaving 1:15PM): Sam & Dan, Mika & Canaan, Garrett & Jessica, Brian & Ericka, Lance & Keri

Both of the final two teams didn’t bother rereading the clue until they were the last two teams standing, and it was then that both realized what they were looking for. Unable to complete this first task, yoga instructors Eric & Lisa have been eliminated from the race.

The poker players are already bluffing. They say they work for an organization that deals with homeless kids in LA.

The first stop os a television studio at the base of the Tokyo Tower. When they land, Maria & Tiffany are already having their first argument after missing the first shuttle.

The second flight lands earlier than expected, putting the gap between flights at just 8 minutes.

When the contestants arrive, they’re in a room where there’s apparently a game show going on. I’m expecting people wearing padding and falling into stuff, but the words I see are sushi and roulette. The host will spin a wheel containing 9 sushi rolls and 2 wasabi bombs. The sushi should be fine, but wasabi is extremely spicy. Ron and Cheyne get the first wasabi bombs, which they must eat within two minutes. Both of them finish the wasabi to advance to the next task, leaving the remaining teams at the mercy of the roulette wheel. Lame. You wanna talk about dumb luck. Garrett and Justin are the next ones to get wasabi, and they do okay as well. Maria is the only one get wasabi on the next spin, but she’s unable to finish in time. So the next time it’s Maria again. This time, she finishes with 1 second to spare. Big Easy and Lance go next and complete the task. Then Canaan is next, and he does fine. Brian and Gary are next. Gary completes the task, but Brian does not. Dan finally gets his shot, and he finishes in less than half the time. That leaves Brian all alone in the studio. He must wait again for the wheel to land on him. On his second try, he just barely finishes the wasabi. I can’t imagine Ericka’s cheerleading is helping him any, though.

Teams must then get their group of studio audience members to Konno Hachimangu Shrine, the pit stop for this leg of the race. Already? Because this a searching task through chaotic streets, it does provide some degree of hope for the teams who got screwed on the road block.

Meghan & Cheyne have the strategy of asking as many people as they can. Marcy’s looking like she may be a few eggs short of a dozen. Zev & Justin are stuck in the group with the woman with a broken shoe. Maria & Tiffany are trying to hook up with Sam & Dan, brothers who are gay. Brian & Ericka run right into a guy who knows exactly where they’re going and takes them there. Sam & Dan split off from Maria & Tiffany to go follow another team and see if they know what they’re doing instead. In the meantime, Maria & Tiffany have lost two people from their audience group and need to go find them. They aren’t alone. Mika & Canaan have left one person behind, which they don’t realize until they arrive at Phil. Despite the drama this leads to, it looks like only a matter of a couple minutes that they end up losing. Maria & Tiffany, however, have decided to just check in, without enough people.

First: Meghan & Cheyne (win a trip to Aspen and Vail)
Second: Zev & Justin
Third: Lance & Keri
Fourth: Marcy & Ron
Fifth: Herbert & Nathaniel
Sixth: Brian & Ericka
Seventh: Gary & Matt
Eighth: Garrett & Jessica
Ninth: Sam & Dan
Tenth: Mika & Canaan
Non-eliminated: Maria & Tiffany

Maria & Tiffany have incurred a two hour penalty for not completing the challenge, and they will also be faced with a speed bump in the next leg, which they will be advancing to.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 15 Episode 2, which airs next on CBS.

The Amazing Race 15 will be returning to CBS Sunday September 27. The cast of 12 teams competing for the $1 million prize consists of:

Dan & Sam
21/23
Liberty, MO
Students
Brothers

Eric & Lisa
41/43
Encino, CA via Michigan
Yoga Studio Owners and Instructors
Married Yoga Teachers

Ericka & Brian
27
Nashville, TN
Entertainer & Miss America 2004 / Marketing Tour Manager
Married

Garrett & Jessica
28/27
Santa Cruz, CA / San Francisco, CA
Engineer/Editor
Dating On and Off

Gary & Matt
47/22
Laurel, MT / Bozeman, MT
Construction Manager and Mortgage Broker/ Student
Father/Son

Herbert & Nathaniel
32/28
Brinkley, AR / New Orleans, LA
Harlem Globetrotters
Teammates

Lance & Keri
41/33
Salem, MA/ Peabody, MA
Lawyer/ Finance Manager
Engaged

Marcy & Ron
60/59
San Francisco, CA
Advertising Photographer/Stock Trader & Math Tutor
Dating

Maria & Tiffany
26/25
Arcadia, CA/Los Angeles, CA
Professional Poker Players
Professional Poker Players

Meghan & Cheyne
23
San Diego, CA
Account Executive/Brand Manager
Dating

Mika & Canaan
22/26
Nashville, TN
Aspiring Singer/Professional Songwriter
Newly Dating

Zev & Justin
26/30
Sherman Oaks, CA / Los Angeles, CA
Unemployed/VP of Production and Development for National Lampoon
Friends

Mika Combs & Canaan Smith
Age: 22/26
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Occupation: Aspiring Singer/Professional Songwriter
Relationship: Newly Dating

CBS Bio
These southern sweethearts will charm you with their fresh faces and wide-eyed enthusiasm for life. They have only been dating for a few months, but admit to spending every waking hour together since they fell in love.

Mika grew up in Hazard, Ky. and moved to Nashville, Tenn. two years ago to pursue a career in country music. She claims to excel in high pressure situations, but admits to often breaking down in tears when she gets upset. Her favorite hobbies include singing, dancing and riding four-wheelers.

Canaan is a professional songwriter who is looking at the Race as an opportunity to grow his relationship with Mika. Mika believes that Canaan can be way too demanding, while he believes she can be too sensitive. He lists his favorite activities to do with Mika as writing songs and making out.

Neither one of them has traveled extensively outside of Canaan’s mission trip to Mexico with his church, but they have no doubt that their love will take them to the finish line and the $1 million prize.

Zev Glassenberg & Justin Kanew
Age: 26/30
Hometown: Sherman Oaks, CA / Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Unemployed/VP of Production and Development for National Lampoon
Relationship: Friends

CBS Bio
Zev and Justin’s friendship started six years ago when they were working as camp counselors and the two have been very close ever since. Zev has Asperger’s Syndrome, but they don’t let it affect their relationship. They share friends and interests, and the friendship is as mutually beneficial as any could be.

Zev is an avid sports fan — especially basketball — and he has an intense competitive spirit. He describes himself as funny, modest, and loyal, and is running the Race to prove to himself that he can do anything.

Justin prides himself on his patience and his ability to problem solve. He admits the biggest difference between he and his partner is that Zev is not great in large groups of people — one of the characteristics of Asperger’s — while Justin is very easy-going and can assimilate himself into any group.

Outside of the occasional trip to Vegas (where Justin took Zev to lose his virginity), neither has traveled extensively, particularly with one another. Their relationship is spontaneous and unedited and resembles one of brothers more than friends.

Dan McMillen & Sam McMillen
Age: 21/23
Hometown: Liberty, MO
Occupation: Students
Relationship: Brothers

CBS Bio
Brothers for 21 years, Sam and Dan will tell you that their relationship did not truly start until last summer when they both came out and told each other that they were gay.

Growing up Christian in a conservative community, neither one of them felt comfortable enough coming out at an early age but after doing so, they’ve found a whole new bond with one another and instantly became closer through honesty and trust. Sam and Dan will tell you that being gay is only one of the many aspects of their lives.

Dan describes himself as organized, open-minded and spontaneous and hopes to gain a new sense of appreciation for his life from running the Race with his brother. His hobbies include exercise, volunteering and traveling.

Sam claims to be optimistic and happy-go-lucky and his hobbies include cinema, logic games and anything involving the outdoors. Communication may be the biggest challenge for this Team, as they claim to be polar opposites. From academic interests to how they approach tasks, these brothers are very different in everything they do. Due to his passive mentality, Sam will need to be more vocal to overcome Dan’s blunt, assertive personality in order to contribute to the team while on the road.

Sam is pursuing a degree in medicine while Dan has one more year left at William Jewell College to complete his business degree. When asked what former Team they would model their style of play after, Sam points to Nick and Starr because they maintained a positive attitude which carried them to the $1 million prize. Dan identifies with the competitive style of Rob and Amber. Both brothers hope that the Race will take their new found closeness to the next level and help them forge an even stronger bond.